Friday, July 20, 2007

E3 has come and gone. We laughed, we cried, we were dumbfounded by Sony(the hallowed price change, which turned out to be a clearance to clear 60GB stock, and possibly the 80GB going down to the $499 spot, WHO KNOWS?!?!?), and there was alot of stuff coming out this holiday season and beyond that will be impossible to pay for with a minimum wage job.

No, SERIOUSLY. Lets think about this for a second.

On my E3 "preview" I mentioned 7 games that are coming to XBOX 360 this holiday season. Each of the 7 will run $59.99,(I won't even add in the guitar or drum cost for Rock Band) with tax in my neck of the woods this would run about $450. But guess what, there are other games worth purchasing. I didn't mention Halo 3, Mass Effect, and many other can't miss titles.

And although there isn't as many PS3 holiday games, there are still many on the horizon, promising that up until summer of next year, any gamer will be BROKE.

G4 TV called Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare best of show. And after seeing how good this game looks visually, and the promise of weapon upgrades and other customizable aspects makes this sound downright cool. Anything that can get something like my most hallowed Battlefield 2142 onto a console is good in my book.

With Tokyo Game Show right around the corner, hopefully we have some more surprises to be seen. Only time will tell.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

The once big Electronics Expo is next week, giving us just as much info on all the future games as it did before, with alot less people in attendance. But that doesn't mean you can't keep up with it, and if you are a big enough Geek like me you will probably be watching G4 (DirecTv channel 354) at the wee morning hours or checking Joystiq.com or Kotaku.com for all the E3 coverage you could ever dream of.

But what am I looking forward to?

Rock Band- Guitar Hero on steroids as I have seen it referred. The original developers of the Guitar Hero series added drums and a microphone. Fun ensues.Ace Combat 6- Former Sony exclusive, looks as good as ever, and hopefully plays like it too. Apparently you can not only command your fellow squad mates, but you can command ground troops and naval fleets as well, or something of that nature.

Heavenly Sword- affectionately reffered to as Goddess of War, over the top camera control reminds people alot of God of War, and apparently so does the gameplay to a certain extent.Gears of War- For the PC.

Turok- it has been a long time coming, but this Dino murder fest looks fantasticCall of Duty 4- same great gameplay, in the future! Modern Warfare, thanks for doing something different, this game looks good.

Warhawk- Online only multiplayer war. Be a ground troop, be a bomber, do it all, on the PS3.Two Worlds- anything that isn't the shooter on 360 is something to look forward to.

Army of Two- EA shooter that focuses entirely on cooperative play. Insert homophobic comments if you will, good too see developers trying new things.Mercanaries 2- Open warfield in Venezuela, with any building able to be reduced to ruble. count me in again.Simcity Socities- When has Simcity let us down before?

Grand Theft Auto IV- heard of grand theft auto?

Not to mention what Microsoft and Sony is bringing. There are so many good titles(especially ones that have been pushed back so many times people have lost count.....timeshift...) So stay tuned, as I try to sift through the truckloads of info and spew forth my own analysis as if anyone is reading.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Look, I have talked about it a few times here before. And although I am sure nobody really read what I wrote (nsc I am looking at you) I will remind everybody that there is something wrong with the XBOX 360. Sure it looks okay, and when you pull it out of the box you like it. It now has a sizeable library of good and affordable games.

But then it hits, the Red Ring of Death. There weren't any warning signs, I mean your 360 was just as loud as all of your friends. The DVD drive hummed just as beautifully playing Gears as your neighbors. And still, it is flashing red at you, red means stop, red is bad. But we still love it and miss it!

Red happened all too often for too many people, and listening to its customers and the blogosphere, Microsoft has answered the call. If you are stricken with three flashing lights of doom for 3 years after the purchase date of your console, they will fix it for you. Not only is this for new customers, this extends to anybody who has purchased one, since launch. That would mean someone who bought a launch 360 would still be covered for over another year.

Granted, this isn't a full coverage warranty, that is still a year, but this is a big step that needed to be taken, and although the cost may be immense for Microsoft, it will bring them good press, and regain the trust from alot of the consumers.

On the other side, we have Sony. Everybody hates you when you are on top, especially when your higher ups make stupid statements often to the press, as has been well documented.

The PS2 was a success. A HUGE success. It redefined the console market, and their will be new software being developed for it well into next year. It dominated from top to bottom, and still sells up there. But here comes Nintendo. Last month reported selling Wii to PS3 at a 6 to 1 ratio in Japan, a region that Sony dominated.

So, does this change anything? Will people be more likely to purchase it at $499? I have always said that people would have been more likely to take the plunge if the catalog of games was larger. I still believe this, even with the price drop the PS3 needs more software. But isn't this exactly what happened to the 360? wasn't $399 too high for it on launch?

Pushing it out a year earlier than Nintendo and Sony may have led to plenty of money lost in warranties for Microsoft, but while Sony didn't have many games at launch, and Nintendo bundled the only game people really care about inside the box, Microsoft was sheilded from their shortcomings by the new industry whipping boy, the PS3.

What did the 360 have at launch? Perfect Dark? When the PS3 has double the titles than are currently out by spring, and people realize it is $100 cheaper, let the games begin. Sony may be down, but there is absolutely no way they are out.

P.S.May I also add that the Discovery Mini-Series Planet Earth looks spectacular on Blu-Ray.